We
have all heard a lot of discussion lately on the energy department’s
move toward a “smart grid” and the use of “smart meters”
fueled by the stimulus funding from the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act. This smart grid promises to “increase energy efficiency,
bolster electric power grid reliability, and facilitate demand response,
among other benefits.” However the devil is in the details;
as they say.

In
order for the smart meter program to be of any benefit to the grid as
a whole it would necessitate nearly universal usage across the country.
The concept on the surface is actually a good idea if energy demand
is the actual goal. For that matter, energy consumption demands could
be ascertained at the point of separation to the public at the local
power sub-stations that serve individual communities and thus alert
the system of increased demand and therefore increased production requirements.
So why are they pushing to install one in every home in America?

The
report states that to fulfill their desired ends: “smart meters
must record near-real time data on consumer electricity usage and transmit
the data to utilities over great distances via communications networks
that serve the smart grid.” Okay, that makes sense but again
why every household and not at distribution points within the neighborhood
which monitors the near real time usage in that local?

Well
thanks to the report they also tell us that: ”Detailed electricity
usage data offers a window into the lives of people inside of a home
by revealing what individual appliances they are using.”
Now let’s look at that statement a moment – their “stated”
goal for this device was so that they could better regulate the grid
reliability and better demand response. What does it matter to an energy
supplier what appliances I am running in my home if their real concern
was just to provide better control of the grid supply? Could it possibly
be that this is a big brother conspiracy of a pending police state?
And is it still a conspiracy if it is in fact true?

Within
the opening paragraphs of the report they state that they are looking
at this, among other things, from a 4th Amendment concern and “As
we progress into the 21st century, access to personal data, including
information generated from smart meters, is a new frontier for
police investigations.” Just as communication interception,
email interception, social media sites, etc. have become sifting pools
for government spying on everyone to purportedly catch a few bad guys
– kind of like treating everyone as a criminal to catch a real
criminal. How great would it be if you could also gather data from inside
every home in America on their electrical equipment and usage?

In
fact the report mentions this exact concern stating: “courts
have used the third-party doctrine to deny protection to information
a customer gives to a business as part of their commercial relationship.
This rule is used by police to access bank records, telephone records,
and traditional utility records.” And just like these areas
were once protected, requiring warrants in order to invade the privacy
of these records it has set a precedent that will assist in further
expansion of the government’s ability to interject itself into
every aspect of our lives.

So
how detailed can reading a meter really get and is this really that
important to understand? Most people would be shocked by how much data
can be derived by these smart meters. In the CRS report they referenced
a 2010 National Institute of Science and Technology report that detailed
some alarming detail that can be ascertained from this data such as:

•‘By combining appliance usage patterns, an observer could
discern the behavior of occupants in a home over a period of time. For
example, the data could show whether a residence is occupied, how many
people live in it, and whether it is “occupied by more people
than usual.” According to the Department of Energy, smart meters
may be able to reveal occupants’ “daily schedules (including
times when they are at or away from home or asleep), whether their homes
are equipped with alarm systems, whether they own expensive electronic
equipment such as plasma TVs, and whether they use certain types of
medical equipment.”’

A
sample graph taken of a home energy usage shows what activity is taking
place at any given time. Because the electrical “signature”
of every appliance is different they are able to ascertain exactly what
equipment is being used as the following graph shows.

Utilizing
electrical usage data in law enforcement is not unusual. Historically
if law enforcement has suspicion that a certain individual may be illegally
growing drugs on their property they may get a warrant on past electrical
usage of the property to determine if grow lights are being used indicated
by large spikes in energy consumption. From the government’s position;
how valuable would it be to have real-time data on every household in
a state or the nation for that matter, on not only what they are doing
but the specific equipment being used? This may be too tempting for
the power elite to pass up.

Along
with the potential for government/police abuse of this information,
and history has shown that when government feels a compelling need to
access data it will do whatever it needs to in order to obtain it, is
also the potential for cyber theft and other commercial intrusions.

One
example given in the report was medical insurance companies using the
data to determine the use of a certain medical device within the home
and how that may complicate medical coverage, or whether a device is
being used improperly and therefore will void a product warranty, and
marketers could use the data to determine certain equipment usage and
thus target sales mailings, etc. Even worse criminals could hack the
data to determine the best homes to target based on certain “signature”
equipment that gives them greater sales on the black market as well
as the most likely times when no one is at home.

The
remaining pages of the 48 page report deals with how that data may,
or may not, be protected under the 4th Amendment or other laws currently
in force. One point that was made was that the data would most certainly
fall under the “protected record” status and therefor would
have to comply with the Federal Privacy Act statutes.

Knowing
how the government has entrenched itself into every aspect of our commercial
lives and communications I do not have a comfortable feeling that this
data will be treated any different and over time will become just another
tool the government can use to monitor the citizens activities.

Remember,
all they claimed they were trying to do is “increase energy
efficiency, bolster electric power grid reliability, and facilitate
demand response, among other benefits.” I do not believe
that knowing when each and every appliance is turned on or off in a
single home will matter one iota to their stated goal and that only
the aggregate of energy usage for a specific area will be of use.

However,
if knowing each appliance signature and during peak usage they could
limit your availability of power – sort of a purposeful brownout
– in which you just would not have the necessary power available
to run an appliance at peak proficiency and thus reduce your consumption
and increase overall energy efficiency; now that may be of value.

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Sound
farfetched? Well during an interview on the Glen
Beck show on Fox News it was revealed that: "No, not so
much. This is from U.S. News and World Report. This is from Carol Browner.
She's the new climate czar. Yes. She said, quote, "We need to make
sure that we're moving electricity in the smartest way and using the
most cost-effective electricity at the right time. Eventually,
we can get to a system where an electric company will be able to hold
back some of the power so that maybe your air-conditioner won't operate
at its peak. So you'll still be able to cool your house, but
that will be a savings to the customer."

But
don’t worry Carol Browner is with the government and they are
here to help. Doesn’t that make you feel all warm and secure?
But we all know the government would never do anything that would trample
our rights - until they are caught doing it – then they are sorry
and promise never to do it again… until they are caught again,
and again. But we can trust them – right?

Michael
LeMieux was born in Midwest City, Oklahoma in 1956 and graduated from
Weber State University in Utah with a degree in Computer Science. He
served in both the US Navy and US Army (Active duty and National Guard)
and trained in multiple intelligence disciplines and was a qualified
paratrooper. He served with the 19th Special Forces Group, while in
the National Guard, as a Special Forces tactical intelligence team member.
He served tours to Kuwait and Afghanistan where he received the Purple
Heart for injuries received in combat.

Mr. LeMieux left military duty at the end of 2005 after being medically
discharged with over 19 years of combined military experience. He currently
works as an intelligence contractor to the US government.

Michael
is a strict constitutionalist who believes in interpreting the constitution
by the original intent of the founding fathers. His research has led
him to the conclusion that the republic founded by the Constitution
is no longer honored by our government. That those who rule America
today are doing so with the interest of the federal government in mind
and not the Citizens. Michael believes that all three branches of government
have strayed far from the checks and balances built into the Constitution
and they have failed the American people. A clear example is the Second
Amendment, which the Supreme Court and the founders have all said was
an individual right and could not be "infringed" upon, now
has more than 20,000 state and federal laws regulating every aspect
of the individuals right, a definite infringement. He has traveled around
the world living in 14 States of the Union including Hawaii, and visited
(for various lengths of time) in Spain, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Korea,
Scotland, Pakistan, Mauritius, Somalia, Diego Garcia, Australia, Philippines,
England, Italy, Germany, and Puerto Rico.

Michael
now lives in Nebraska with his wife, two of his three children, Mother-in-Law
and grandchild. His hobbies include shooting, wood-working, writing,
amateur inventor and scuba diving when he can find the time.

In order for the
smart meter program to be of any benefit to the grid as a whole it would
necessitate nearly universal usage across the country. The concept on
the surface is actually a good idea if energy demand is the actual goal.